Saint Deogratias of Carthage

Consecrated Bishop of Carthage in 454 CE under the Arian Vandal King Genseric after years of empty see, Deogratias was confronted months later with the catastrophic aftermath of the Vandal sack of Rome in 455 CE, when ships arrived overflowing with enslaved Roman families separated from their children.

In an extraordinary display of humanitarian compassion, Deogratias converted two massive basilicas (the Basilica Fausti and Basilica Novarum) into emergency hospitals, purchased mattresses, hired doctors, and personally attended the sick day and night until dying of exhaustion in 457 CE.